Social Justice

I was supposed to go running this morning. But we got to bed around midnight and, when my alarm went off at 5, I decided to just sleep in. I meet a friend for breakfast most Thursdays, so I figured I’d sleep until 6 or so and then get ready and go.

I couldn’t get back to sleep. I kept thinking about the killing of Alton Sterling. I lay there, by turns incredibly sad and angry, and finally got up. My phone said it was 5:59. I thought I would sit down and write up my thoughts.

Then I saw the news about Philando Castile.

I’m still trying to process all this. I have no wisdom to offer here.

Here’s what I know: Two men, made in the image of God, are dead. And they should not be.

As a Christian, I can’t be silent. We white Christians have been silent far too long. Martin Luther King, Jr., condemned us in 1963 for our silence. Our brothers and sisters today do so, too. They are right to do so.

I don’t know what this means, exactly. Right now it means listening, and weeping with those who weep (Romans 12:15).

Here’s the paragraph from King’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail that still rings true:

We can never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was “legal” and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was “illegal.” It was “illegal” to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler’s Germany. But I am sure that if I had lived in Germany during that time I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers even though it was illegal. If I lived in a Communist country today where certain principles dear to the Christian faith are suppressed, I believe I would openly advocate disobeying these anti-religious laws. I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. First, I must confess that over the last few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I can’t agree with your methods of direct action;” who paternalistically feels he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by the myth of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait until a “more convenient season.” Shallow understanding from people of goodwill is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.

But the judgement of God is upon the church as never before. If the church of today does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authentic ring, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. I am meeting young people every day whose disappointment with the church has risen to outright disgust.

Some links from the always interesting Jemar Tisby. First, he had some great comments on #BlackLivesMatter and the pro-life movement. His is not the only opinion on the page, but he resonated with me most.

Finally, two book suggestions. Both of these help give you an idea of who Dr. King was, not just the sanitized version that is popular today.

The first is The Radical King. It is a collection of speeches and writings from Dr King that give you an idea of how the man thought. It’s organized by category, and is easy to read in small bites. The comments from Cornel West help supply context without getting in the way.

The second book is Death of a King, about the final year of his life. Tavis Smiley does a great job showing how, while he is popular today, King’s views about state violence and poverty made many people withdraw their support. Before reading about this I had never heard this part of the story. There is also a great interview with Smiley on The Daily Show discussing the book.

Take some time and learn about Dr. King. He truly is an American icon, and with good reason. I believe it will be time well spent.

Today I saw another story about how a home that was built for “Extreme Makeover” is being sold.: “‘Makeover’ home to become ‘high-end’ drug rehab center.” The reason: They could not afford the property taxes on it. So after everyone donated their time and efforts, the home was sold for half a million dollars.

I’ve written about this before. My view hasn’t changed in two years: I have nothing really to say about the family. If it’s best for their family to sell, then sell it.

I also haven’t changed my opinion on the problem. I know this situation is a bit different, since this family had their home destroyed. However, I think the issue stand. You can read what I wrote back in July of 2012 (July is apparently the month for selling these things). If you don’t feel up to it, here’s the punchline:

The problem here is the underlying assumption: Your family has trouble because you’re not able to have nice stuff. If you assume that, the solution is obvious: Give them nice stuff. It’s a simplistic, materialistic solution to a very complex problem…

This whole tale is another example of why the materialistic view of poverty doesn’t work. People can parachute in and do something really big but, in the end, the family is no better off for it. A year and a half later they’re having to find other ways to meet the same needs they had before.

How we do missions matters. Poverty is an extremely complex problem, and the solutions (yes, plural) will have the be complex. Shows like this are entertainment, and that’s it. We need more than entertainment and sentiment to fix these problems.

Today Georgia is scheduled to execute Warren Hill. I have no doubt this man is guilty of murder. It is just as obvious, however, that he is also intellectually disabled. Not only is killing him unconstitutional, it is also immoral.

Below is the text of the letter I sent this morning to both Attorney General Olens and Governor Nathan Deal.

Dear Attorney General,

I am writing to urge you to halt the execution of Warren Hill. As you know, the US Supreme Court banned executions of the intellectually disabled. Our state’s own experts all agree Mr. Hill falls within this category. It is therefore not only unconstitutionally, but immoral to execute him.

As Dr. King wrote (quoting Augustine before him), an unjust law is no law at all. Our state’s burden of proof for establishing intellectually disability is unjust, and we are the only state in the nation that sets the bar so unnecessarily high. It is therefore immoral to sit by and allow this unjust law lead to this unjust action.

I implore you to act. This is not a matter of guilt or innocence, but of true justice. Killing a mentally retarded man is no justice. And it is not what we want our state known for.

Sex Trafficking in Atlanta

Steven E. Thompson, 42, and Tierra Michelle Waters, 30, both of Atlanta, were indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury on charges of sex trafficking of a juvenile and conspiring to do the same. Each charge carries the possibility of life in prison.

“These defendants preyed on a young girl in need requiring her to have sex with men if she wanted to keep a roof over her head,” U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said in the news release.

Idle of the Heart.

I continue to find young men who are frustrated at their stage in life in part because of a lack of clarity about their calling, or a lack of opportunity to do what they really want to do. This frustration leads many to become idle. Inactive if not aimless. And this leads many to become jobless (or nearly so) while becoming overly dependent on others (parents, friends, credit cards). If you find yourself at this stage I would like to address you, my friends. No, I’m not going to lecture you about your motives, growing up, or prolonged adolescence, though such things might be issues for you to deal with. I only want to remind you of three truths than can change how you understand and experience this time in your life.

This time is hard, and it is easy to conclude there is little to no value in these days of uncertainty and disappointment. While you are figuring out (or waiting to do) what you are called to do vocationally, know this: you are called by God to work hard now, to share with others, and to love your neighbor…

Preparing for the Future in the Age of Facebook

I’m a big fan of technology. I also try to be realistic about its pitfalls. This article at Desiring God lists some of them. Nothing very new here, but if you’ve never considered what all this does to our attention spans and ability to think deeply, I recommend it.

But an endless assortment of instantly-available media and non-stop social interactions are making uninterrupted study less common for young adults in our day (and for all of us). Such distractions radically short-circuit the learning process, preventing students from reaching their God-given potential for usefulness in the kingdom and workplace. If a well-trained mind is a means to loving God and serving others, how can we help students (and ourselves) reverse this harmful trend?